Focus

Focus – why it has become so hard

Why has concentrating become so hard? A walk through two books about attention – Stolen Focus by Johann Hari and Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey – and what they say separately and together.

Back to the episode Arrow keys or swipe

What this covers

  1. Why attention is under pressure
  2. Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
  3. Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey
  4. Hyperfocus and scatterfocus
  5. Autopilot, and where attention actually goes
  6. Practical moves for working undisturbed

Two books, two directions

Where the authors look for the cause

Stolen Focus · Hari

Looks outwards

  • The cause lies in the surroundings, not in you
  • Technology built to hold on to you
  • Working life, sleep, diet, pollution
  • Conclusion: the problem is collective, and self-discipline is not enough

Hyperfocus · Bailey

Looks inwards

  • The cause lies in how attention works
  • How much of the day runs on autopilot
  • How much we can hold at once
  • Conclusion: this is a craft, and it can be practised
They contradict each other less than they answer different questions. Hari explains why it has become harder; Bailey explains what you do about it tomorrow morning. Read only one and you get half an answer.

The two modes Bailey describes

What surprises most people in Hyperfocus is that half the book is about the opposite of concentrating.

The brain needs both

  1. Mode 1HyperfocusAll attention on one task. This is where work gets done, and where you notice time moving fast.
  2. Mode 2ScatterfocusLetting the mind wander on purpose. This is where things connect, and where the rest is.

↻ And then back to the first

Bailey's point is that the second is not wasted time but something the brain depends on to tie together what it has taken in. Good ideas rarely arrive in the middle of hyperfocus – they arrive in the shower afterwards.

It is easier to remove a distraction in advance than to resist it in the moment.

What lies underneath: both books end up here, though they come at it from opposite sides. You lose when you have to decide against something over and over through the day. You win when the decision was made once, before you sat down.

Key points

  • The two books look at the same problem from opposite ends – the system and the individual.
  • Hari points at our surroundings: much of this cannot be solved by willpower alone.
  • Bailey points at the craft: steering your attention is something you can practise.
  • Scatterfocus is not the opposite of working – the brain needs both.

Questions this answers

  • Why has concentrating become harder?
  • Is it a question of willpower, or of our surroundings?
  • What does Johann Hari believe has stolen our attention?
  • What is hyperfocus, and how do you get there?
  • Why is letting the mind wander also a form of focus?
  • What can you do in practice, in an ordinary working day?

Spørretimen

Read the whole thing at

www.sporretimen.no/en/episodes/fokus-laer-noe-nytt/